Home  Reviews  Articles  Calendar  Presenters  Add Event     
Symphony
TWO OLD, TWO NEW AT THE SR SYMPHONY'S MARCH CONCERT IN WEILL
by Peter Lert
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Chamber
NOT A SEVENTH BUT A FIRST AT SPRING LAKE VILLAGE CONCERT
by Terry McNeill
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
THIRTY-THREE PLUS VARIATIONS AND AN OCEAN VIEW
by Terry McNeill
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Choral and Vocal
A ST. JOHN PASSION FOR THE AGES
by Abby Wasserman
Friday, March 8, 2024
Choral and Vocal
SPLENDID SCHUBERT SONGS IN SANET ALLEN RECITAL
by Terry McNeill
Saturday, March 2, 2024
Chamber
SHAW'S MICROFICTIONS HIGHLIGHTS MIRO QUARTET'S SEBASTOPOL CONCERT
by Peter Lert
Friday, March 1, 2024
Chamber
FRY ST. SQ PLAYS A DEMANDING 222 GALLERY CONCERT
by Terry McNeill
Friday, March 1, 2024
Symphony
YOUTH ORCHESTRA CHARMS BIG SPRING LAKE AUDIENCE
by Terry McNeill
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Chamber
SPIRITUAL CHAMBER MUSIC MARIN TRIO CONCERT
by Abby Wasserman
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Recital
ELEGANT VOCAL MASTERY AT ROSES SIGNATURE RECITAL
by Pamela Hicks Gailey
Sunday, February 25, 2024
RECITAL REVIEW
Numina Center for Spirituality and the Arts / Friday, July 10, 2015
Etienne Walhain, organ

Organist Etienne Walhain

FRENCH ROMANTIC ORGAN MUSIC IN NUMINA RECITAL

by James Harrod
Friday, July 10, 2015

Etienne Walhain played a magical recital July 10 of organ music of Bach, Scarlatti and Franck. Displaying total command of the Church of the Incarnation’s Casavant instrument under his hands and feet, Mr. Walhain performed his program from memory with breath taking speed, accuracy, and clean articulation. His fast moving personal interpretations of the music gave the listening audience new perspectives on otherwise familiar music.

Bach’s Toccata, Adagio, and Fuge, BWV 564, were played with a relatively light registration, and he chose a virtuoso velocity in the long manual and pedal passages. Contrasting registrations gave a lighter sense of the music than often heard. The adagio with the solo reed was lightly suspended. The following Bach D Major Prelude and Fuge (BWV 532) was registered more robustly, and this interpretation provided an excellent contrast to the BWV 564

The program’s second part began with two keyboard sonatas of D. Scarlatti, normally heard on the harpsichord or piano (in G major, K. 146, and in C Major, K.159). These two compositions were played with colorful reeds to a surprisingly good effect. Lastly played were two great Franck works, the Pièce Héröque (from 1878) and Final in B-Flat Major, Op. 21. With Franck, the artist was in his home territory and produced all of the authentic sounds of the French Romantic organ to the pleasure of the audience.

The enthusiastic audience demanded an encore, so what better contrast than Mozart’s Mechanical Clock (K. 608) played lightly on 4’ stops (an octave higher). The entire program was played without a flaw and with fearless variation registration.

Mr. Walhain is the Organist Titulaire at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Tournai, Belgium.